Lost Bus Passes, Pedestrian Danger — What A Nashville Neighborhood Learned From A Week Without Cars

If you gave up your car for a week — how would you get around? 

A group of West Nashville neighbors found out by putting themselves to the test, and now they want to use the lessons they learned to ask officials for transit improvements. 

The group of about 30 residents of the Nations neighborhood began by boarding a city bus en masse a week ago — in matching bright blue shirts.

“Don’t Car Week,” they called it — seven days relying only on the bus, bikes, and their own two feet.

“No car at all this week,” said Tony Ruff, an IT worker who made his pledge with confidence. He said he’d make no exceptions when traveling to work, the YMCA, or to rent Redbox movies.

But how many would stick with it for a week? And what lessons would they learn about public transit?

For Jamie Brown, who organized the entire event, the experience began with something of a bump in the road.

“I lost my bus pass the very first day. A seven-day bus pass. And I was freaking out,” she said.

Stuck downtown without a ticket on a Sunday night — after the service window closed — she then learned about the kindness of bus drivers.

“[The driver] said, ‘Shhh, sit down,’ and gave me a ride home anyway, which was really nice,” Brown said.

Other participants told similar stories about drivers. Ruff, for example, saw a driver step outside to help a couple carry their groceries on board, and another driver who “showed as much care as you’d expect from a nurse,” when assisting a female rider with a disability.

Brown’s practical takeaway: the Metro Transit Authority could create a more foolproof payment system.

Mostly, though, Brown’s group was pleasantly surprised to find bus stops close to home and handy routes. And by pairing her bike with the bus, she gained some fitness perks, she said.

“So I think I will definitely keep — as long as it’s not raining, pouring rain — taking the bus when I can,” she said. “But I think there’s a few who, this is not going to have a big impact, and they’ll be glad to get back in their cars … the biggest obstacle is getting people to try it.”

Changing travel habits won’t depend only on the bus system. Ruff — who made that confident no-car pledge earlier in the week — found bike lanes and crosswalks lacking.

“I actually already had an altercation with a person when I was crossing the street here earlier — who yelled at me.”

Ruff said he didn’t let that driver bother him — and he did keep his one-week promise.